( 1 ) THIS is a petition file dunder Article 226 of the Constitution. Petitioner is a society registered under the Delhi Cooperative Societies Act. There are seven respondents, these being (1) Union of India through the Secretary to the Government of India in the Ministry of Urban Development, (2) Lt. Governor, Delhi, (3) Land Acquisition Collector, Delhi, (4) Delhi Administration through the Secretary, Land and Building Department, (5) Delhi Development Authority (for short dda ), (6) Municipal Corporation of Delhi ( mcd for short), and (7) Registrar, Cooperative Societies, Delhi. The petitioner seeks a writ of certiorari quashing the notification dated 7 June 1990 issued under section 4 read with section 17 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 (for short the Act ) in respect of land bearing Khasra Nos. 415/1 (0-8), 421/1-2 (2-8),426 (7-ll),431 (4-10), 603/526/2 (3-17),527/ 2 (3-8) and 525/1 (2/5) totalling 24 bighas 7 biswas situated in the revenue estate of village Kasoompur,tehsil Mehrauli, New Delhi. The petitioner society claims to be the owner of this land. A writ of certiorari is also prayed for quashing the order of the DDA refusing to grant sanction to the petitioner for erection of buildings/execution work of its group housing scheme and communicated to the petitioner by letter dated 2 July 1990 of the D. D. A. This letter is addressed to the Hony. Secretary of the petitioner society and is as "sir, With reference to your application dt. 1. 6. 90 for the grant of sanction for the erection of buildings/execution work of the group housing scheme for Maharishi Dayanand CGHS Ltd. situated at village Kusumpur, Tehsil Mehrauli, I am to inform you that the sanction has been refused on 20. 6. 90 on the ground that the land for which the group housing scheme has been submitted does not form part of the approved layout plan of DDA. Yours faithfully, sd/- ( A. K. Gupta ) Jt. Director (Bldg.) "

( 2 ) THE petitioner then also seeks a mandamus directing respondents not to interfere with peaceful enjoyment and possession of its land and further seeks a direction to the DDA to approve and sanction the layout plans and building plans of the petitioner for construction of group housing residential flats for its 181 members as per plans submitted to the DDA. Declaration is also being sought that impugned notification and the letter of rejection of the DDA as aforesaid are arbitrary, malafide, and in abuse and excess of authority and power conferred upon the authorities. These are the main reliefs which the petitioner claims. Other reliefs are all supplementary or incidental to these.

( 3 ) ON 28 September 1986 the petitioner entered into an agreement to purchase the land in question with the original owners. On 30 January 1987 possession of the land was delivered by the land owners to the petitioner after receiving full and final consideration. On 11 July 1988 the land owners executed assignment deeds assigning all their rights, title and interests in the land and these were registered in the office of the Sub Registrar, Delhi.

( 4 ) AT this stage it may be appropriate to give background of the earlier writ petition filed by the land owners respecting the land in question. The predecessors of the petitioner had earlier filed a writ petition (Writ Petition No. 1283/83) on 13 June 1983 in this Court. The petitioners therein had challenged an earlier notification under section 4 and declaration undersection 6 of the Act as well as notices under section 9 and 10 of the Act in respect of the land in question which, as noted above, is the same as in the present petition before us. They also challenged the award No. 2181-C dated 12 September 1980 whereby the Land Acquisition Collector in respect of the subject land had stated that since notices under section 55of the Delhi Development Act, 1957 (for short the D. D. Act )had been received, award for this land would be prepared after clarification from the department by means